Split
by Ocellifer
Summary: The artifacts scattered throughout the shelter had a strange effect on people, but Philip would never guess just what they were capable of.
1. Chapter 1

So I discovered Penumbra over a year ago and just now got around to writing a fic for it. I hope you like it!

- Fic edited by my friend Lizard6745 on DA-

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Philip turned away from the doors trapping Amabel; she had just explained to him that he needed a keycard to free her. There was no way he was leaving without her; her voice was the only thing keeping him sane in this hellhole. Clarence was once again bitching and moaning about her, but Philip ignored him, focusing instead on finding the keycard that would free Amabel. He turned down another hallway in the seemingly endless maze that was the Shelter. Of course, all of the doors were locked, and Philip was becoming increasingly frustrated. The keycard could be behind any of them and he would never know.

From the next hallway over there came a sudden growling, accompanied by a piercing scream and loud banging. The noise made Philip jump and Clarence shut up. Philip took off running in the direction of the noise.

"Hey Monkey, I thought your lot was programmed to run _away_ from danger."

Philip didn't even hear him; he had lost all sense of reason at the thought of finding another survivor, especially one that might be able to free Amabel.

As he rounded the corner Philip saw a door halfway down the hall that had been broken open, but whatever had tried breaking into the room seemed to have lost interest and left. Philip slowly made his way over to the door, listening for any signs of the infected that the placed was crawling with. Carefully, Philip stepped into the room. Lying in the center of the floor was a dead body, which was unsurprising, if not a bit disappointing; now he would just have to search for the keycard on his own. The body was that of a man about Philip's age. His eyes were wide open in shock; he appeared to have died of fright. "Aw, looks like your monkey friend got so scared his heart copped out. How pathetic," Clarence said. For once, Philip had to agree with him.

Clasped in the man's hands was one of the lantern-like artifacts that were scattered about the Shelter, almost like he had intended to use it as a weapon. The sudden urge to touch it overcame Philip. He tried to resist it; he knew it couldn't be good for him.

"Go on Monkey, you know you want to," Clarence urged.

Philip slowly reached out to touch the artifact. The last thing he remembered before passing out was a white hot jolt of electricity coursing down his spine.


	2. Chapter 2

Philip gasped as he came to and found himself lying on the cold cement. His body ached, and he wanted nothing more than to go back to sleep, but he knew he had to get moving before the infected found him. Sudden movement to the left caught his eye. Philip looked over to see that the dead body was looking at him.

"You're finally awake! I was starting to think you'd never get up," the body said, sounding an awful lot like Clarence. Philip screamed and lashed out at the previously dead body, managing to elbow it squarely in the face.

"Goddamn it Monkey! I get out of your head and that's how you repay me?"

"Clarence?" Philip asked. What had happened when he'd passed out?

"The one and only," the body replied, now sitting on the floor and holding its nose gingerly.

"How?" Philip asked.

"How should I know? You touched that artifact and then the next thing I know I ended up in this body. Wish I had known that sooner . . ."

The sudden realization that the same virus that had just recently been trying to kill him now had a body of his own hit Philip. He slowly started reaching behind him, hoping to find something he could use as a weapon in case the virus decided it still wanted to kill him.

"'Ey Monkey, quit lying around. Are we gonna get out of here or not?"

Philip was taken aback by Clarence's words; he had completely expected the virus to try to kill him.

". . Uh, yeah, but I'm not leaving without Amabel," he replied.

"Oh come on Monkey! Can't you just forget about the damn broad? We've both got what we want, now let's get out of here," the virus whined.

"No Clarence, I can't just leave her down here; I promised myself I would get her out."

Clarence looked like he was about to start arguing again but merely said,

"Fine, have it your way, but don't complain to me when she screws everything up."

Philip stood up slowly, wincing at the aching pain that steadily spread though his body. It was about time for some painkillers. He looked over at Clarence, who was still sitting on the floor examining his new body.

"Isn't this great Monkey? This body is all mine!" the virus exclaimed.

Clarence's body was short and pudgy, which was surprising considering the facility's apparent lack of food. His short dirty blond hair stood up in small tufts.

"Well are you going to just sit there admiring yourself? We need to get moving before the infected find us," Philip said.

Clarence looked up at him with hazel green eyes.

"Hold on Monkey, give me a chance to get used to this, would ya? It's not every day you get transplanted into a dead body."

Philip watched in amusement as Clarence tried to stand, only to fall flat on his ass.

"Why don't you make yourself useful and give me a hand instead of standing there grinning like an idiot, 'eh?" the virus growled.

Philip just laughed and said,

'You better learn how to walk before the infected find us, because I'm not going to risk my life to save you."

Clarence glared at him and used a nearby shelf to pull himself up. He wobbled unsteadily as he walked to the door.

"We should get going; one of my brothers is heading toward us."

"How can you tell?" Philip asked.

"Just get moving, or do you want to die?"

They both stepped out into the hallway, Clarence still a bit unsteady on his feet, just as the beam from a flashlight shone around the corner.


End file.
